This dangerously drinkable garnet beauty is a hop lover’s delight. The intense dry-hop nose and the alcohol content are perfectly balanced for a caramel candy-like malt finish. This is a serious beer for serious beer afficianados and it only gets better with age. Cellarable for 3 years.

O: an American barleywine that borders on the DIPA - hop action is strong enough to meet the malts midway - some chew, but mostly on the finish - otherwise maintains a nice bitterness that cuts through the sugars of the malts. I really dug it. Think of it as a malty DIPA or a hoppy American barleywine. Real nice drinking.

Poured a deep red/brown color with light but rocky head,the aroma was suprisingly hoppy.The head was pretty creamy and sticky.This is a uncompromising beer here,nutty and somewhat medicinal with a hugely dry finish.Quite a beer here maybe a little overwhelming.Never heard of Avery even when living in Denver for awhile had never seen it,man this is a big beer.

Appearance  Nice, clear, orangish-brown body with a gigantic head that somehow laced the glass with a 9.2 ABV. The head pitted well, leaving an artful display on my Ruination glass.

Smell  This one is big on the hops. There seems to be a complex mix, which lots of pine, rind, and grass aromas. I can pick up a little malt for balanced (lightly-toasted) but the hop mix carries the day here.

Taste  All of the scents blend quite well at the tongue. The hops lose their edge and mix well with a light sugar sweetness. This is terrific.

Mouthfeel  Flat and to the point. Full-bodied and very dry. Not a hint of the astronomical ABV.

Drinkability  Im embarrassed to say how quickly I drained this bottle. This is a personal favorite of mine.

Mostly clear ruby orange with a light, creamy khaki head. Three fingers that settles to a modest cover. A couple big patches of lacing. Served at about 60 degrees.

There's a healthy nose of citrus hops (apparently all Columbus) balanced with sweet apricot, orange marmalade and candied malts. Fresh smelling and very pleasant. Even with the relatively warm pour temperature the aroma grows

This is a very well-balanced barleywine. For 100 IBUs, there isn't an overpowering bitterness. The hops provide a subtle citrus flavor, while plenty of candied caramel malts make the finish smooth and creamy.

Personally I prefer full-bodied, thick, syrupy barleywines but this one sacrifices some body for drinkability. The alcohol is mostly unnoticeable anywhere except in my body, and if I stand up now I'm probably in danger of falling over. As long as I'm sitting I think I could drink these all night.

I had not been to the brewery in about 3 years and decided to make the trip out to Boulder after skiing in Breckenridge. First I had to take the wife to see the millions of prarie dogs that are all over the eastern part of town.

This is by far the best beer I have tasted over the last 12 months.

A-hazy orange juice

S-hop bomb

T-a total hop bomb with a great malt backbone. This one could be a DIPA just as easily as a Barleywine

M-the malts give this a great mouthfeel

D-I had a couple of these and I could have had a couple more without any palate fatigue. I even followed it up with a Dugana and was still impressed with the cask freshness.

OK-now the review of the Hog Heaven in a bomber from 2005

Appearance-truly a ruby dark barleywine with blackened yeast sediment

Smell-wine/sherry

Taste-vinous with a little malt backbone. After tasting this I took an inventory of all the old barleywines I had on hand. i think I need to drink up everything that is more than 2 years old. I don't think I'm a big fan of the wine aspects of older barleywines

A: Mostly clear coppery color with an excellent frothy white head. Head retention throughout the experience with white lacing down the glass.

S: Mostly malty on the nose but a noticeable presence of mild hops as well.

T: Complex medium-toast malt flavors well matched with hop bitterness - but not balanced. Although a touch sweet with malt, the flavors a bit more dry compared to other barley wine styles previously sampled but is a compliment to the overall taste. The finish is long and malty with a bit of warming.

M&D: Mouthfeel is heavy, smooth, and complex and has the effect of a creaminess as it rolls over the tongue. Carbonation only enhances everything else and helps to bring everything together nicely. Fantastic example of the style.

I really dug this brew from Avery. It porued a medium amber color with a very thick frothy head that left nice lacing down the glass. The smell was very nice and sweet with alot of malt, citrus and woody scents. The flavor was quite nice with a touch of malt sweetness in the beginning, then it opened up with a nice hop bitterness followed by a fruity finnish and aftertaste that tasted like alchoholic pinapple. This was a very enjoyable beer and one I would definantly buy again.

Pours a light amber color. Smells of grapefruit, along with pine sap. Very hoppy, but with quite bit of malt. Mouthfeel is full, but not syrupy so. I find this to be a very drinkable barleywine.

Certainly this isn't a beer you'd slam in 20 minutes after just getting home after a long day at work. Rather, I'm savoring it at 3 AM, long after getting home from a long day at work. I think Iike this one the most out of Avery's lineup.

Smells a delicious American style BW. Something I would love to brew myself. Very slight hop character, can smell the booze but its more interesting that alcoholic. There is something floral in there, but I cannot place it.

Hmmm, not what I expected. Close to perfection on the appearance and smell, but the taste is not living up to those expectations. More hoppy than malty. Well, more hoppy than I would like in a BW. I think the ABV might be masking some flabor here. I dont like the body, all I get is hops. Finish is nice.

A 22oz bomber poured into a snifter. It was a hazy brown color, not particulary attractive, with a thin head. It had a sweet malt aroma, along with some floral aroma. The taste was mostly reminiscent of caramel, with a little hops presence. I thought the beer was a little on the mild side, but still pretty good.

A - Pours a hazed amber with two fingers of creamy looking tan head. Head has nice retention and leaves spots of lacing all the way down the glass.

S - Caramel and toffee. Some citrus hops are still noticeable, despite the age.

T - Lots of caramel and toffee, and some dark fruits coming through. Similar to the nose, there are still some citrus hops present, and a decent bitterness throughout, but probably nothing like it was fresh. I don't like really hoppy barleywines (though I love DIPAs) so I let this one sit intentionally. Two years on this is definitely tasty and still has a surprisingly nice bitterness throughout the taste.

M - Medium-full mouthfeel with a nice balance of sweet and bitter. Finish is dry with a lingering bitterness. Some numbing alcohol noticeable on the finish.

O - Pretty tasty barleywine, and I am pretty sure that I enoyed this more with the age than I would have fresh, but I would still like to try this fresh, or with less time on it, to compare. While I prefer English style barleywines, if I am looking for an American style, this is a tasty one at a great price.

22 oz bottle. Pours a copper-orange with a good sized rocky off-white head that stays creamy the whole way down and leaves a wall of lacing.

The aroma is sweet malts and grapefruits and earthy spicy piney hops with some sour woody and leather notes.

The flavor is sweet and fruity (melon) caramel malts with a decent bitter hop finish that lingers in the aftertaste. I remember this being more bitter, but my palate has probably changed quite a bit since I last has this. As is, I find it very nicely balanced. The alcohol is dangerously well hidden. It's medium bodied, a little on the watery side, yet still smooth.

Overall, an excellent brew! I would say it's more of an American Strong (like Arrogant Bastard) than Barleywine. But however it's classified, it is yummy! I'll be coming back to this in the future.

22 oz bomber pours a slightly hazy apricot color with no head. Patchy, beige colored lace leaves a collar and patching on the glass.
Lovely aromas delight the nose with apples, sweet caramel, smoked walnuts, and an odd, but interesting, Scottish style malt, all on a backbone of piney hops.
Mouthfeel reveals a strong hops presence and plenty of carbonation.
Taste is complex. Granny Smith apples dipped in caramel, some vinous alcohol presence, tangerine and citrus hoppiness, and a delighful, smoky, nutty, bitterness.
Very tasty, with an interesting array of complex flavors. This is what I think a good barleywine should be.

On tap at the Blind Tiger, NYC. Poured dark almond and cloudy, ruby notes. Nice lacing, hoppy nose. Medium bodied. Hops are up front, grainy and resiny and rich. Malt backbone comes onto palate later for balance. This is a very drinkable BWine, Very tasy and enjoyable . Wish we could get this much more often on the east coast. Seek this one out and enjoy.